Daily Current Affairs 4 January 2021 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.
NATIONAL NEWS
PM Modi Inaugurates National Atomic Timescale, Lays Foundation Stone of National Environment Standards Lab
Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the National Atomic Timescale and Bhartiya Nirdeshak Dravya Pranali to the nation and laid the foundation stone of the National Environmental Standards Laboratory through video conference.
- The conclave was organised by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL), New Delhi, on its 75th year of inception.
- The NPL is one of the oldest laboratories in the country. The NPL has adopted an international practice for production of Indian Certified Reference Material (CRMs) Trademarked as Bhartiya Nirdeshak Dravya.
Delhi government sets up Tamil Academy
The Department of Art, Culture and Language of the Delhi government set up a Tamil academy to promote the South Indian language and culture in the Capital.
- It also appointed former municipal councillor and member of the Delhi Tamil Sangam N. Raja as vice-chairman of the academy.
- The academy will introduce various awards to promote and reward the works of people in Tamil language and culture.
- It will also provide language courses. It will also celebrate and organise cultural festivals for the people of Tamil Nadu.
BANKING & FINANCE
KVIC unveils e-commerce portal for khadi, village industry products
The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has unveiled an e-commerce portal — eKhadiIndia.com. Over 50,000 products, ranging from apparel to home decor, will be available on its newly launched platform.
- The portal is the first-of-its-kind government online shopping platform to boost rural economy and become self-sustainable.
RBI introduces Digital Payments Index
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constructed a composite Digital Payments Index (DPI) to capture the extent of digitisation of payments across the country.
- The RBI-DPI has been constructed with March 2018 as the base period. The DPI for March 2019 and March 2020 work out to 153.47 and 207.84 respectively, indicating appreciable growth.
- The RBI-DPI comprises five broad parameters,that enable the measurement of deepening and expansion of digital payments in the country over different time periods.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Indian Army signs contract with Goa Shipyard Limited for 12 Fast Patrol Boats
The Indian Army has inked a contract with Goa Shipyard Limited for 12 fast patrol boats for surveillance and patrol of large water bodies, including those in high altitude areas. Their delivery will commence from May 2021.
- These indigenous boats will accommodate additional troops for patrols at the lake, where China has lately laid claims to Indian territory, leading to a tense situation on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
AWARDS
Mukesh Ambani ranked 12th in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index 2021
Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has been replaced as Asia’s richest person by Chinese private billionaire Zhong Shanshan.
- Mukesh Ambani, the chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) dropped down to 12th spot in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index 2021 (as on 2nd January 2021). The net worth of Ambani dropped from 90 billion USD (around Rs. 6.62 lakh crore) (in early 2020) to 76.7 billion USD (around Rs. 5.6 lakh crore). The drop in the net worth of Mukesh Ambani was due to the correction in the shares of RIL.
- Amazon founder Jeff Bezos topped the charts with a net worth of $201 billion. Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk ($145 billion) moved into the second position.
- French multinational luxury goods conglomerate Louis Vuitton SE group head Bernard Arnault ($120 billion) came in third, followed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates ($111 billion) and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg ($109 billion) in the fifth slot.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
GRSE delivers eighth landing craft utility ship to Indian Navy
Despite challenges owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, the Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) has successfully delivered the last of eight LCUs manufactured for the Indian Navy.
- The LCU ships, equipped with state-of-the-art technology, were developed in-house with 90 per cent of its parts indigenously manufactured.
- These ships are very unique in their design and class in the world. A very specific kind of requirement was given by the Indian Navy — speed of 15 knots, a displacement of 900- odd tonnes and a low draught for beaching in the shallowest of waters.
- The ships are designed to accommodate 216 personnel and have two indigenous CRN 91 guns to provide artillery fire support during landing operations.
ENVIRONMENT
India to be a co-chair of regional forum to conserve wildlife habitats
After efficiently growing inhabitants of wild animals corresponding to tigers, lions and leopards via defending their habitats, India will be the co-chair of the IUCN-supported Asia Protected Areas Partnership (APAP) for 3 years and it could, on this capability, help different Asian international locations in managing their protected areas.
- The APAP is a regional platform to assist governments and different stakeholders to collaborate for more practical administration of protected areas (PA) within the area.
- The APAP at present consists of 21 members from 17 international locations together with China, Japan, South Korea, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
OBITUARIES
Ace mountaineer Colonel Narendra ‘Bull’ Kumar passes away
Ace mountaineer Colonel Narendra ‘Bull’ Kumar, who helped India secure the Siachen Glacier, passed away at the Army Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi due to age-related illness.He was 87.
- Col Kumar, who was awarded the Kirti Chakra, Padma Shri, Arjun award and the McGregor medal, carried out multiple expeditions in the Siachen glacier area in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
IMPORTANT DAYS
World Braille Day
World Braille Day is annually celebrated on January 4, the birthday of Braille inventor, Louis Braille.
- The first World Braille Day was celebrated in 2019, this year marks the second edition of the day meant for creating awareness and making people understand the importance of Braille as a mean of communication.
- The day recognizes the contributions of Louis Braille in helping blind and visually impaired people to read and write.